The Story Of My Life
by Icequeencissa
Summary: This is my story, The story of Bellatrix Black. My life was perfect as I child, but then I grew up. All the sweet childhood innocence was swept away like wind leaving me alone in my darkness.
1. Fun Old Christmas part 1

**Chapter 1**

It was like Hell frozen over at the Black Manor, pond completely frosted over like cut glass and grounds covered in a thick layer of freezing snow. I sat on the frosty window ledge, staring vacantly into space. Waves of icy wind blasted into my face constantly, but I never once recoiled or indeed moved a muscle. Suddenly my mother's sharp cry brought me back into dreary reality.

"Bellatrix Black! Get down here this instant or I'll put my apperation skills to good use!" I sighed and rolled my dark eyes as I stood up, straitening my blood red dress.

"Yes, Mother?" Vindictive old cow. I plodded downstairs, making sparks fly from the tip of my wand with every thud which signified a step. Narcissa floated past me halfway down, brandishing wreaths of mistletoe in my face. Well, she is my little sister; it is her prerogative to irritate me into contemplating suicide. I couldn't wait to get back on that train and off to happy ol' Hogwarts to wipe that cocky smile of the arrogant, four-eyed bastard's face. And my traitor of a cousin. And 'Mad Moonie'. And rat face. Man, are we going to kick their little arses. And are we going to like it? Yes! Are we going to kick their dirty, scrawny little arses? Naturally. And are we going to like it? Oh we're going to love it.

As if one some kind of unannounced cue, numerous families began appearing outside the family home. One by one they were welcomed into the mansion by mother and father, and then Narcissa and I were made (grudgingly) to escort them into the main hall, which had been decorated for the ball. This occasion took place every Christmas; the only thing that changed at all was the venue. Only one requirement: it must be the home of a pure-blood family. This year it was the Black's turn. Many noble Pure-blood families attend- Malfoys, Lestranges, Mcnairs, Parkinsons, Avery and Rookwoods just to name a few. My parents always made sure they took the opportunity to flaunt their wealth and success in front of everyone else. Narcissa enjoys flouncing around the place, looking pretty and angelic, smiling at everyone; though the smile didn't, in a few cases, always reach her eyes. I, however, despise it. I can't stand the way all of these people tried desperately to blend in with the other families, as though they were actually proper purebloods. Which most of them are not. Only my family and a couple of others are true pure-bloods. Oh no. Mother's got the Lestrange family hooked and she's towing them towards me. I suppose the Lestranges aren't too bad, but still… Ralph and Rochella are my parent's friends, Rabastan is in his 7th year at Hogwarts, and Roxanna is in her 5th. Finally, there's Rodolphus. You could say he's my best friend, only we argue like archenemies. He's in his 6th year like me.

"Bella? Bellatrix!" I wondered over, not bothering to make my smile look nice.

"Yes, mother?"

"Come along and show the Lestrange family to their seats, now. There's a good girl." Ooh, she was good. Well, two can play at the 'caring family game'. I made sure I shot her the most venomous smile I could behind her back, before turning and smiling sweetly.

"This way, if you will. No need to hurry." I said in a strangely dull voice. "Plenty of time to decide to turn around and go home." I added under my breath. Rodolphus smirked at me, which his Mother glared at him for. I lead them over to the table where they were to be seated not saying anything to any of them. The Lestranges were sitting at the same table as my family and I soon found out that I was sitting next to Rodolphus, the only problem was the fact Rabastan was opposite me. Rabastan did everything he could to annoy, but so does Rodolphus really, but hey life could get worse. And it just did! Lucius pompous 'prat' Malfoy was walking towards me, smirking.

"So Bella, how are you" He asked seeming polite to the people around but I could tell he was trying to mock me.

"Perfect, thank you, Mr. Malfoy" I replied telling myself to stay calm.

"Hey Lucius, is it true that you are to be betrothed to Bella's younger sister Narcissa?" Rodolphus said cutting into our glaring match.

"Yes, but what is it to you Lestrange?" Lucius looked angry at him for bringing it up.

"Just wondering, that means you'll be Bella's brother-in-law in the future" Rodolphus looked over at me waiting for my reaction.

"No way is he going to be my brother-in-law, Anyway the food is going to be served so we better sit down. Goodbye Mr. Malfoy" I said trying to get him to go away, whilst slowly and elegantly taking my seat. Rodolphus sat down next to me and started a conversation with Roxanna about how she'll make Rabastan pay for something he did earlier. At that very moment Rabastan took his place and just sat there without saying anything to me, yet. The food appeared and everyone got stuck in. I already had a feeling that something would go wrong, and hell I was right…


	2. Fun Old Christmas Ball part 2

_Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't be bothering with fan fiction. If I was Shakespeare I would be dead!_

Chapter 2 

I sat eating my food silently. It was the way pureblood daughters were expected to behave; like the rest of humanity two hundred years ago.

"Seen and not heard, dear. That's the way it goes," my mother always told me; or hissed in my ear as the guests walked in. Bloody parties! Always dull and boring with the added bonus of pricks like Lucius and Rabastan. Well, at least they are fun to play with. Or extract sweet revenge from.

"Oh hello, darling! How wonderful to see you here!" I rolled her eyes and forced down a scream of fury. What was she doing here?

"In case you hadn't noticed, darling, I happen to live here. This is the Black family manor. Honestly, I really don't condone traveling if you are not aware of your destination." Karina McNair flicked her tufts of straw away from her face as I spoke. She had plastered on too much make-up and her face looked like it was melting from the heat of the candles. Just then, Rodolphus had the ill-fortune of being 'espied from afar' by Karina.

"Roddy? Oh, Rodolphus, darling! Won't you come and have a glass of butterbeer with me?" The poor young man looked as if he was about to be fed to a horde of famished piranhas when Evan Rosier made a hasty exit from the situation. I suppose it's simply in my nature, but I did get a feeling of satisfaction from that heart-wrenching expression. Suddenly, I felt a slight whoosh of air. Startled, I spun around only to find that it was just the ten layers of frills on Narcissa's dress.

"What do you want?" I said rather unceremoniously to my little sister. She was obviously preoccupied as she ignored my comment completely.

"Oh, can't you kill him for me, please?"  
I frowned. "Who?"  
She rolled her ice-blue eyes as if I hadn't been paying any attention to the events of the past twenty minutes. "Mr Malfoy!"  
"Oh, our happy pal Lucy. What's he been doing?"  
"Well, I'll give you three guesses, shall I?"  
"Don't worry; he'll get bored soon and move on to some other pretty form of prey. Just ignore him and he'll soon go away." She stalked off, muttering under her breath. I turned my attention back to rescuing Rodolphus. However, before I could stalk over and ditch the bitch, I was interrupted by my darling mother.

"Here she is! Bellatrix, won't you come and greet our visitors?"  
I muttered a thousand silent curses in my head as I turned to face her, whilst plastering the best grin I could manage at that moment in time on my face.

"Hello, Mrs Rookwood, Mrs Yaxley, Mrs Avery. I do hope you are enjoying the ball?" My mother glared at me from behind the three womens' backs. I didn't know what I had done wrong, though; I had tried to rid my eyes of daggers and my voice of ice. Of course, if the women noticed, they ignored it completely. Yaxley took one look at me and stuck her nose back to its usual position - as high in the air as she could manage. Then she sauntered past as if she owned the place and I was merely a slug on the floor. I watched her go, and stuck my tongue out as she walked away. My mother saw. I was going to be in trouble later. It was a shame.

As the other two women struck up a lively conversation with my mother on the topic of the contamination of pureblood families by mudbloods, I saw something strange and for once, interesting. McNair had left poor Rodolphus alone for a while and was instead talking to Rabastan in the corner of the hall. They leant towards each other, heads bowed, and then broke apart suddenly. Rabastan handed her money, then shoved her roughly away. I narrowed my eyes. What was that basilisk up to now?

I found myself incapable of thinking when I heard that high-pitched voice call out as if to a dog.  
"Roddy? Roddy!" I couldn't take any more of the stupid cow. I took a deep breath and…

"RODDY! Roddy, wherefore art thou, Roddy!" I screamed as loud as my voice could manage. The entire hall fell silent (which is an amazing feat in itself) and I pretended to shade my eyes with my hand as I scoured the hall with my eyes. My father stared at me, completely stunned. Had I really just used a line from Romeo and Juliet for Rodolphus Lestrange?

In all truth, Mother looked quite pleased. Maybe she thought that I would end up marrying him and leaving home prematurely. Now that would be a blessing for her. My eyes came to rest on Rodolphus' face. He seemed to have been rendered speechless by my little timed outburst, but then he began laughing and walked over to me. He clapped as he came, and once beside me, he turned to my parents.

"Your daughter seems to be quite the actress, sir. Let us hope that she continues to entertain and make this ball worth coming to." No one had ever spoken to my father like that except me. I actually felt pride for him. We laughed together and fled the room before my father's rage could inflict serious damage on the both of us. We continued to laugh as we ran up the stairs. Finally, we arrived at my room.

I opened the door and went inside with Rodolphus. I sat down on the end of my bed as Rodolphus looked around the room.  
"You're crazy Bella; totally insane," he said as he sat down next to me. I looked at him, unsure of what to say.  
"Would you want me any other way?" He merely smirked at my comment. I remembered then what I had seen earlier. "I saw Rabastan giving money to Karina. Do you know why?" I asked, trying to ignore the fact that I was struggling to breath.

"Rabastan's been paying her to get to know me. He thinks I don't know. Just forget about it. He's only doing it to annoy you. Anyway, no one would ever choose McNair over you."  
I blushed at the last part while he just smiled. He lifted my chin up with his hand and he leaned down. I didn't know what to do; I could get up, say I'm sorry and run for it. Or I could admit I like him. Did I like him in that way, though?

He was my best friend and I didn't want to lose him and tonight showed me just how much I like him. I couldn't stand to see him with that cow. Should I go with my head or heart? Oh, do you what, damn it. Just kiss him. And so I did. It was sweet and soft, just like I had always wanted my first kiss to be. Yes, okay: no matter what has been said about me, I've never kissed any one before. The kiss ended and I turned my head away, embarrassed. Everything I like always gets messed up and, if I admit it, I'm nothing without Rodolphus. Merlin knows why, but tears started falling gently down my cheeks.

"Hey, Bella, don't cry; what's wrong? Is it me; have I done something?" Merlin, he was nice when he wanted to be. I wiped my tears away and turned to face him.  
"Promise me something, Rodolphus. Don't leave me; don't you ever leave me."  
He smiled and pulled me into his arms holding me tight. "I, Rodolphus Lestrange, promise to never leave thee, Bellatrix Black," he replied laughing. I stayed tucked up in his arms, slowly letting my dreams take over me…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I woke to the sound of birds signing and the morning sunlight beaming in through the windows but, after looking around, I realized Rodolphus had gone. I lay still for a while, trying to figure out the last time the manor has ever seemed so peaceful but soon realized it was probably before I was born. The peacefulness didn't last for much longer as Narcissa decided to skip into my room, in one of her many pink dresses, and jump onto my bed, landing ever so elegantly on my legs.

"Ow, What do you want Cissy?" I asked as I attempted to move from beneath her. Cissy flicked her blonde hair in an over dramatic way before fixing me with a stare that clearly meant I was in trouble.

"Mother and Father want to see you in the drawing room in 15 minutes so I advise you to get up and get ready". How kind of her to tell me! Although I know that my parents would want to talk to me sooner or later, it didn't stop me from being annoyed. I slowly got up and slipped into a plain black dress and black pumps and then I made me way downstairs. On the way down I passed Andromeda who was so intensely reading her book that she completely ignored me.

"Morning Andy, how are you? I'm very well, thank you!" I shouted after her, only to be met by the sound of her bedroom slamming shut. I soon arrived at the drawing room but I stood outside for a while straitening my dress and trying to make myself presentable. Once I was ready I knocked loudly on the door and I heard my mother sharply reply, telling me to come in. As I walked in, telling myself over and over again in my head to stay calm, I saw my parents sitting next to each other, both looking displeased. I swiftly sat down on the chair opposite them and I waited for them to start their never-ending lecture on behavior in public, which I had heard a million times already and I could probably recite it of by heart. We sat in silence for about a minute before my father decided to start off what would quickly become an argument.

"Bellatrix, we have told you many times that your behavior in public defines our family's reputation and yet you still choice to embarrass us with your reckless and unbecoming ways. The Malfoys and many other families were appalled by your actions and, whilst young Rodolphus Lestrange seemed entertained, the rest of his family was also embarrassed by your actions." He stopped to take a breath and look even more intently at me before continuing. Surprisingly, my mother had managed to stay quiet, just as I had. "We apologized to the Lestranges for you as they were leaving and, fortunately, Rodolphus apologized to us for his part in your ridiculous display. However, judging from his part last night, we believe that it would be best for you to stay away from the young Lestrange as he appears to be a bad influence. May I be rest assured that you will, for once, follow our instructions?" My father waited patiently for answer while I contemplated what he had just said. He wanted me to stay away Rodolphus! I was about to fight back but then I realized that he would have no control over how I saw when I was back at Hogwarts. Excepting what he had said, I agreed and both my parents clearly sighed with relief. They too obviously expected me to fight with them over it but to be honest; I was too tired to cause a scene today. My father nodded his head towards the door signifying that I could leave so I quickly but quietly left and raced up to my room, surprised to find both Cissy and Andy waiting there for me. Andy was reading still while Narcissa plated her hair but they both stopped and looked up as I entered the room. Cissy moved over slightly so I could sit down on my bed and then they both looked at me expectantly.

"What" I said annoyed that they were still there. Cissy looked down at her hands whilst Andy replied,

"Well what did mother and father want?" I sighed softly before deciding to talk to them.

"They just told me how disappointed they were with my behavior last night and they told me to stay away from Rodolphus. That's it!"

"But you're not going to stay away from him are you?" Andy said whilst Cissy looked up in interest.

"Do you like him?" She asked to which I gave her a glare but told her I did.

"But mother and father won't let you see him?" Cissy questioned. Andy sighed and took hold of one of Cissy's hands, as if to tell her to stop asking questions but for once I was fine with it.

"At home I won't be able to see him but they can't stop me talking to him in school and seeing as were going back tomorrow I'm not going to have to wait long to see him." I answered and I could see Cissy was about to ask another question but mother walked into my room.

"Girls, you need to start packing. I want you to have everything ready by this evening so we can leave early tomorrow." We all nodded at her and then Cissy and Andy followed her out of my room and back into their own. I was about to start packing when I heard tapping on my window and I looked up to find Rodolphus' black owl, Raven, waiting to be let in. I quietly opened my window and then gently took the letter out of his beak. I saw the Lestrange's family seal and my eyes lighted up even more at the sight of Rodolphus' handwriting. I opened the letter carefully and read:

_Dear my little ray of sunshine,_

_I'm sure you had an excellent night's sleep filled with dreams of me but I hope your parents weren't too harsh on you. Roxanna came and found me after you had fell asleep and I had to go home, despite my attempts to stay. I just wanted to let you know that I'll meet you in compartment 46 on the train tomorrow as I have something to give you. Waiting patiently to see your beautiful face, Rodolphus_

I smiled as I read Rodolphus' letter which only made me more desperate to see him. I pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and quickly scribbled down a reply.

_Dear my ever so charming Rodolphus,_

_Thank you for the letter and of course I will meet to tomorrow. My parents weren't too bad but they told me to stay away from you which I clearly doubt is going to happen. I can't wait to see you… Your sunshine, Bella_

I folded the parchment and placed it in Raven's beak before whispering to him to take it to Rodolphus. I watched the black owl fly away and then spent the rest of the day trying to take my mind off Rodolphus. I'll never be so happy to go back to Hogwarts as I will be tomorrow… 

**A.N: Hey, I'm so sorry it has taken so long for me to update but I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Live, Love, Laugh, Nellie. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The sound of people rushing about, the steam from the train and owls screeching everywhere filled my ears as I stepped onto platform 93/4. I pushed my way through the crowds until finding a clear place to stop and wait for my sisters and mother, who were lost somewhere in the sea of people. Eventually my family joined me and I waited to hear my mother's usual lecture on our behaviour.

As she started talking my mind drifted off, until it sounded like she was in the distant, and looked around to see if I could catch a glimpse of Rodolphus anywhere. I saw Malfoy, with his family of albino's, looking down on everyone who walked past, Karina Mcnair hugging her mother who wore just as much make-up as she did and finally my eyes landed on the Lestrange family. Rabastan was talking with his father whilst their mother fussed over Roxanna. Rodolphus was standing a little to the side of his family, joking around with his best mate, Evan Rosier. As Rodolphus turned around he caught my eye and winked before turning back to his mother, who was trying to get his attention.

Finally my mother had finished her speech so I picked up my trunk, muttered a quick goodbye and made my way over to the train. I dragged my luggage down the corridor, which was covered with people saying hello to friends, and I finally reached compartment 46. Rodolphus wasn't in there yet but Severus Snape, Braxton Yaxley, and Alecto were. I ignored all of them as I lifted my luggage into the holders above the seats and I then took the seat next to the window facing them. None of them spoke to me so I didn't see the point in speaking to them, so we sat in silence until Lucius entered and started a conversation with Snape. Malfoy was closely followed by Narcissa who sat next to Alecto and they started talking about last week's fashion column in Witch Weekly. 15 minutes later the compartment door opened as Rodolphus and Evan joined us all. They put the luggage away and then Rodolphus sat next to me with Evan next to him.

"Hey, how was the rest of your holiday?" Rodolphus asked, starting the conversation, which I was thankful for cause I had no idea what to say.

"Boring" I replied just before Evan started to give an in detail account of his amazing holiday. Rodolphus rolled his eyes as if he had heard it a thousand times already whilst I sat patiently and half listened, smiling in all the right places.

I hadn't even realised I had fallen asleep until I felt myself being shook and slowly I forced my eyes open. Rodolphus was next to me but I was surprised to find everyone else had left the compartment.

"We're here" Rodolphus said quietly before standing and pulling down both his and my luggage. I stood and took my bags from him and followed him out off the train. This time, I wasn't surprised to see that there were only a few carriages left to take us to Hogwarts. Rodolphus opened the door of one and jumped in and followed him in. As soon as I sat down the carriage started to move and for the first two minutes we sat in silence. Once again, it was Rodolphus who started talking first.

"Oh, I forgot! I have something for you," He said before he began searching in his pocket for it. "It's not much but I saw it and thought of you." He handed over a little black box which I carefully opened to find a silver snake with emerald stones for eyes on a silver chain.

"Thank you so much! I love it!" I said as I pulled it out of the box and placed it around my neck. As I looked back to him, Rodolphus lent down and kissed me. I didn't really know if we were now dating after everything that happened at the Christmas ball, but I hoped so. He then got up and moved next to me before taking hold of my hand. I moved closer to him and lent my head against his shoulder. We didn't talk at all for the rest of the journey, just played with each other's hands and kissed every now and then. Although I hated school, I was certain the year would be ten times better with Rodolphus by my side…

_A.N- I'm sorry it's short but I hope you enjoy it. I'm happy to listen to all of your suggestions on where you would like this story to go as I am struggling for ideas at the moment. Thanks for reading, Nellie _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After Dumbledore's never-ending, speech and we had all stuffed ourselves full of food, I took Rodolphus' waiting hand and joined the crowd trying to get out of the Great Hall. After pulling and pushing through everyone, I could finally breathe again as we made our way down to the dungeons. I could hear Evan and Braxton, not far behind us, arguing over which team will most likely win the quidditch world cup this year, and I tried to think of something to talk to Rodolphus about. After knowing him my whole life, or at least as far as I can remember, I realised how little I actually knew about him.

"What's your favourite colour?" I randomly asked. Rodolphus looked surprised at first but then he smiled and replied.

"Green and yours is scarlet." I returned his smile before thinking of other questions.

"Favourite food?"

"Cinnamon rolls and yours is strawberries" he replied.

"Favourite Place"

"Anywhere by the sea. Your eyes are the colour of the ocean." Came his quick answer.

"Tell me something about you that nobody else knows…" I asked, hoping he would answer. I heard him sigh and I watched him as he thought about it and then he answered.

"When I went to Paris with my family a couple of years ago I heard a muggle playing piano. I don't know why but I wanted to learn to play. So I asked my mother to buy my a piano, which she did, and I thought myself how to play." Of all the things I had imagined him to say, I never took him for the kind of guy who would play piano, or any musical instruments.

"You should come to my house in France sometime. You'll love it there!" Rodolphus said as we stepped inside the Slytherin common room. Everything looked the same as last, and the year before and the year before that. Nothing ever seemed to change at Hogwarts.

"I'll come anytime you want" I replied as I sat down on the green couch closest to the fire, which is burning away. Rodolphus took the seat opposite me and looked into the flames. I loved the way the fire illuminated half of his face in contrast with the other half in shadows.

"You know there is a Hogsmede trip coming up? I was wondering if you would like to go with me." Rodolphus quietly asked.

"Of course I will" I replied, just before Evan, Braxton and Alecto sat down around us. I couldn't believe it had taken me this long to realise that my best friend wasn't sitting with us.

"Where's Maisy? I haven't seen her at all yet." I asked to which Alecto replied.

"She's clinging onto her latest boyfriend somewhere" I shouldn't have been surprised really. I didn't really want to know but I asked anyway.

"Who is she going out with?" Alecto hesitated but replied after Evan nodded to her.

"Lucius Malfoy"

"What! She can't be with him. She hated him last year! Besides, he's betrothed to my little sister." I practically shouted. Nobody spoke after that so eventually we all drifted away with a quiet goodnight, until it was finally just me and Rodolphus again.

"Maisy will get bored of Lucius quicker enough, considering he's not the most exciting and entertaining person going" Rodolphus said, trying to stop me from being angry with Maisy.

"Look, I don't care if she is going out with him, I just don't want to have to spend any time with him. He's infuriating!" Rodolphus smiled at my irritation and I couldn't help but smile back. I tried to stifle I yawn so Rodolphus wouldn't notice but he did.

"You tired?" he asks before pulling me up. I nod once before he pulled me into a hug. I heard him whisper goodnight into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, and I knew he would soon let go despite me wanting to keep holding him forever. I said goodnight back as he pulled away and I watched him climb the stairs to the boy's dorms. I slowly made my way to my room where my night clothes already lay on my bed. I changed and then crawled into my bed, pulling the covers up tightly around me. My thoughts flew back to Rodolphus and how I wanted to know more about him. He never seemed like all the other boys, despite being part of the crowd, and although he was confident in public, I always saw a different side to him. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my darling best friend stumbling into the room, banging into as many objects as she could on the way, almost as if she was purposely trying to get my attention. I wasn't in the mood to talk to her. If I did it would probably end in an argument, which was happening a lot lately. I heard her curse something as I switched of my bedside light. My eyes were already half closed before my head had touched the pillow but I was awake enough to hear Maisy whisper sweet dreams. If they were of a certain person, I was pretty sure they would be…

_A.N – Not long again, I know, but I figured if I write shorter chapters then I could update more quickly. If you have any suggestions of where you would like this story could go then please tell me either in a review or a private message, I would love to take some of your ideas and incorporate them with mine. Finally, a big shout out to nannyandpotocrazy, thank you so much! I hope you all enjoyed, Nellie _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

My eyes slowly fluttered open to the sound of Maisy's voice, moaning for me to wake up.

"What time is it?" I managed to mumble, whilst pushing myself out of my bed. My vision went blurry as my eyes adjusted to the bright light that was shining through the window.

"Time that we should be in the Great Hall and plus we can't be late on the first day back at school, so hurry up" Maisy replied, rustling about her bag to make sure she had everything she needed for the day. I quickly got washed and got changed into my uniform, and then I picked up my bag and followed Maisy out of the room. I was too tired to notice anything that was going on around, until Maisy decided to screech her boyfriend's name at the top of her voice, causing me to fully wake up. Maisy grabbed my arm and pulled me along with her over to where Lucius was standing, with his usual gang of twats.

"Hello, ladies, how are you this morning?" Oh dear god, just the sound of his voice bores the hell out of me. I still couldn't understand why anyone would actually go out with him. After a few minutes I became only vaguely aware of the conversation that was going on beside me, as my eyes had caught sight of Rodolphus, walking down the stairs from his dorm, laughing at something Evan had just said. I muttered quickly to Maisy that I would see her later, but she was too caught up by Lucius to notice, and then I practically stumbled across the jam-packed room to meet Rodolphus at the bottom of the stairs.

"Morning" He said as he reached me, and I would have replied if Evan hadn't of pushed in front of me and continued his conversation with him. After what seemed like forever, Evan had finally finished prattling on and had left, leaving me and Rodolphus alone at last.

"Come on, let's go to breakfast" he said as he took hold of my hand and pulled me through the crowds of people who had all gathered in the common room.

After a few pointless, yet fun conversations with Rodolphus, we made it to the great hall. There were even more people there than in the common room, people all trying to push themselves through the crowds to reach their house tables. The Slytherin table was on the far left of the hall, with the Gryffindor table next to it. Joy, another year of stupid Gryffindor low-life's throwing food at us, just what we needed. Surprised to find Maisy already sitting at the table, I took the seat next to her whilst Rodolphus walked around the table to take the seat opposite me. I picked up a piece of toast and started eating, listening to the mindless chit-chat over Quidditch and the latest news in the Witch Weekly magazine. I had barely finished eating before Maisy turned towards me and put her head down, signifying that she wanted a private conversation with me. I copied her actions and waited to hear what she wanted to talk about.

"So, what's the deal with you and Rodolphus? Are you dating? Cause you look like you're together and you've been acting like it for years." Always straight to the point Maisy is. I was about to reply, practically automatically, that we were together but I realised that neither of us have ever said that anything about going out.

"I don't exactly know," I told her honestly. "He asked me to go to hogsmede with him, which I'm assuming is a date, but then he hasn't asked me if I want to go out with him" Maisy never got the chance to reply due to Professor Slughorn reaching us with our timetable for the year. Looking up and down the timetable, counting how many free periods I had, I realized I had potion first. Gathering my stuff together I walked out the hall and down to the dungeons, with Maisy and the rest of the group following. After waiting about 10 minutes, listening to insults been thrown back and forth between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, Slughorn arrived and we pushed our way into the classroom to claim the same seats as last year. As I was sliding into the seat beside Maisy, the voice of the most irritating person in the world screeched down my ears.

"Rodolphus, I've been looking for you! How was your holiday?" said the high pitched voice, belonging to Karina McNair.

"Exactly the same as it was when you asked me 15 minutes ago at breakfast, McNair" Came Rodolphus bored reply. If Karina was bothered by his reply, she didn't let it show, she merely tossed her hair whilst thinking of another question to keep his attention on her.

"Well I heard that you spent most of it at your home in France, I've been told its lovely there."

"Why are you bothering to ask when Rabastan has already told you everything?" Rodolphus asked as he turned to face her.

"What do you mean?" Karina said, her voice faltering a little.

"You know damn well what I mean! Those little not so private letters that you send each other, it seems you both have so much fun planning things about me behind my back." Rodolphus said, his voice rising slightly.

"Look, Rodolphus, I can explain" Begged Karina, looking shocked that he'd found out.

"Don't bother, just forget it and going find someone else to pester 24/7" Came Rodolphus quick response. Karina looked like she was trying not to cry as she walked over to the table where her friend was sitting.

"You know you've just crushed her pretty little dreams about having a big white wedding and living happily ever after with you, don't you?" Maisy said, turning around in her seat to face Rodolphus and Evan sitting behind us. I copied her actions, trying to ignore the points and glares that Karina's friends were sending my way.

"She'll probably start chasing down your charming boyfriend Maisy" was Rodolphus reply. "After all, any one with money is enough for her" Maisy quickly fixed him with a glare, which he didn't seem bothered by at all.

"Are you implying my boyfriend has nothing but money?" she asked, her voice shaking, giving away that she was getting angry. Rodolphus simply smiled and quickly replied before Slughorn started talking.

"You the one who said that, not me"

Evan and I, even though I had tried not to, laughed as Maisy quickly turned her back on them and slammed her hand down on the table.

"Quieten down class! Today we will be making Amortentia. You have an hour to complete the task, so off you go"

An hour later, with a successfully made love potion, I walked with Maisy to her history of magic class, before I walked back to the common room, as I had a free period.

"Hey Bella, come join us" Evan shouted from his seat next to the fire. I looked around at who he was sitting with; Lucius was next to him whilst Rodolphus sat opposite. I walked over and threw myself into the seat next to Rodolphus, who smiled as I sat down. I smiled back before turning to listen to the conversation Evan and Lucius were having about the ministry, but I soon got bored and switched off.

"It's all they ever talk about now-a-days" Rodolphus said, noticing the look of boredom on my face. I looked at him curiously, prompting him to go on. "Ever since those stories about the Dark Lord were published in the papers, they have been talking non-stop about him"

"Oh, I read those. I take it you don't agree with this Dark Lord then?" I asked, wanting to know more.

"It's not that I don't completely agree, I just think he's going around things the wrong way. It doesn't really matter anyway, my father was one of his first followers, and he expects me to follow in his footsteps." Rodolphus explained.

"Well, if I'm being honest, I hate the idea of being controlled, and being told what to do like a slave, for just a man" I swore I saw I slight smile cross Rodolphus face as I replied. The conversation I had earlier at breakfast with Maisy came flying back into my mind, and I realized that the only way to find out was by asking.

"Ok, so I'm going to be really blunt to don't laugh or mock me! Are we going out or not? Cause I wasn't sure after everything at the ball and you haven't said anything, and then you asked me to hogsmede…"

"Will you go out with me?" Rodolphus said interrupting me.

"What!" I said, wanting to make sure that was actually what he said.

"Will you go out with me?" He said it slowly, but before he had even finished the sentence I had leaned over and kissed him, oblivious to the fact that both Lucius and Evan were staring at us.

"I'll take that as a yes, then?" Rodolphus said, smiling, before leaning in and kissing me again.

_A.N- Ok, so I know I haven't updated in ages, so I tried to write a longer chapter for you. Once again, I hope you like it and please review to tell me your opinions… Thank you, Nellie_


	7. Author's Note

_A.N- I've made the decision to put this story on hold, whislt I complete my other one. I'm sorry if this decision upsets anybody, but I think it's the best thing to do. My other story, Changing With Time, is also about Bellatrix and Rodolphus so you could check it out if you want too. Once i've completed that story, I will return to this one as I imagine this story as becoming almost a prequel to Changing With Time. I'm so sorry and I thank all of you who have read this story xx_


End file.
